Cricklade is a beautiful town on the edge of the Cotswolds in Wiltshire.

Understand

Snake's head fritillary

Cricklade is a small town of about 4,000 people in north Wiltshire, very close to the border with Gloucestershire. It is roughly halfway between Swindon and Cirencester.

Cricklade was originally settled before the Roman occupation of Britain, and the town is a well preserved Saxon new town.

The North Meadow has roughly 90% of the UK's snake's head fritillary flowers. Inhabitants of the Hundred and Borough of Cricklade have rights to graze cattle and horses on the North Meadow, with is overseen by a manorial court established in the 14th century.

Cricklade is also the first town that the River Thames passes through on its journey from source to sea.

See

• 1 North Meadow. is an excellent spot, the best in the country, for seeing the rare snakeshead fritillary flower  
• 2 St Sampson's Church. Church with a nave built in the 13th century and a 15th century tower. There was a church on this site in 973 and it is recorded in the Domesday Book. (updated Mar 2020)
• River Thames - Cricklade is the first town that the River Thames passes through after it rises a few miles upstream. It's quite a lot smaller here than in London!

Eat

There are many good pubs in Cricklade. There are also several Indian restaurants, a Turkish kebab shop, a Chinese, a Thai.

• 1 White Hart, High St, SN6 6AA, ☏ +44 1793 750206. 
• Red Lion, 74 High St, SN6 6DD, ☏ +44 1793 750776. 
• 2 Stacey's, 42 High St, SN6 6BX, ☏ +44 1793 750754. M-Sa: 6AM-11PM, Su: 7AM-10:30PM. A typical British 'greasy spoon' café. 

Sleep

• 1 The Red Lion, 74 High St, ☏ +44 1793 750776. (updated Apr 2016)
• Cricklade Hotel & Country Club, Common Hill, ☏ +44 1793 750751. (updated Apr 2016)

Go next

• Cirencester
• Malmesbury
• Swindon

Routes through Cricklade

Cirencester ←

N  S

→ Swindon